A splash /A pinch /A dash /A sprinkle. what are the differences?

[Oscar]

Hi, Mr. scavenger of questions, what are the differences between A splash,  A pinch,  A dash , A sprinkle?           A confused boy.

[luke]

Hi Oscar!

Well, a confused boy is what you are now but soon won't be.

All these terms are commonly used in cooking, and the difference lies in whether they are liquids or solids.

Solids:

A sprinkle - non-precise term usually used with spices  (as much as needed to taste correct)

A pinch - precise measuring term, used with salt and pepper mostly

Liquids:

A splash - A small to medium amount of liquid (less that 10ml)

A dash - A smaller amount that a splash, for stronger liquids

[Oscar]

Lol, Thanks, I'm not confused anymore.
Here's a recipe for perfect pan cake. Well, just a few steps.
1. Sift the flour into a large bowl and add A PINCH OF salt. Then add the egg and mix together with a ballon whisk. Don't worry it looks a bot lumpy

2. Gradually add the milk, just 1 tbsp or so at a time. (by the way, what is tbsp?) get them mixed with a hand-held blender, it's the easiest way to make a really smooth batter. Pour the mixture into a  jug.

3. Heat the oil in an 18cm/7in heavy -based non-stick pan. Pour in just enough mixture to coat the base, tipping the pan as you go. Don't add to much at once, or the pancake will be too thick

4. Cook over a medium heat for 1 min until the base is golden brown. Slide a palette knife under the pancake and life it to turn over. Cook for about 30 secs more until that side is brown. Use the palette knife to life the pancake on to a plate. Keep  warm in the oven set at the lowest temperature.

[Learneng]

Hi Oscar,

Thanks for sharing the recipe. I always used pancake mix but now I have your recipe. Now I can make pancakes from scratch.

Thanks again,
Learneng

PS:tbsp=tablespoon
tsp=teaspoon

[Cayte]

Someone asked me the same questions a few years ago and I happened to save a couple of samples on my hard drive.

sprinkle - Top each bowl with a generous sprinkles of fresh mint.
pinch    - Put a pinch of salt on the mixture.


splash - I wiped out the splashes on the floor.
dash   - "Cream with coffee, Madam?" "Yes, please, just a dash."

[Oscar]

Thanks all, seems there're a lot of things to learn about cooking.

[Cayte]

Oscar,

     You can use them as a verb of a sentence. No more cooking this time.  

     - To make sure I'm not dreaming, I keep pinching myself.
     - Thai people splash water to one another during the Water Festival.
     - The speech was liberally sprinkled with jokes about the accident.
     -  Luke said, "I must dash", before he got off the chat session.  (Reaally, he uses this word so often that it sticks in my mind.)

[Learneng]

Hi Cayte,

Some more meanings of these words (thanks to Google).

A pinch is the compression of an electrically conducting filament by magnetic forces.

A dash is a punctuation mark.

In erosion, splash is the detachment and airborne movement of small soil particles caused by the impact of raindrops on soils.

Sprinkle, a method of baptism, particularly used for infant baptism.

Learneng

[luke]

Incredible work Leareng and Cayte, that's a very concise overview of the four words. Let me add another set of examples;

Splash on a little aftershave to smell nice

Pinch, punch, first day of the month and no returns (said on the 1st of month, followed by the pinch and punch with no returns!)

Oh dash! (non-offensive form of swearing)

Look outside, there's a sprinkle of rain